Awesome Greek Chicken, Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad

Before I get to the food, I was surprised while watching a nature show when the host said “this bird can see in color.”  It never occurred to me that all animals didn’t see in color so I did a search on dogs and was surprised to find that they basically see just blue and yellow and this is what we see vs. them.

The rest of you dog lovers likely already knew this but I was glad to learn it.  My buddy Joe is color blind and this may be what he sees or something similar.

Now to the food.

When Pam recently posted the recipe for Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad recipe, I knew I wanted to make an adapted version of it. And I thought it would be a perfect accompaniment to the Awesome Greek Chicken we made last summer and, turns out, it was also a Pam recipe – so this is Pam Night at Almost Heaven South.

I made the chicken just as before but doubled the amounts for our eight diners.  I made a few changes to the salad beginning with swapping beans for the chick peas as Bev doesn’t care for them.  Then I used half spinach and half romaine lettuce, and finally, I doubled everything to get the recipe below.  You can click on the first link above to visit Pam’s site for the original recipe and her excellent pics.

Greek Marinated Chickpea Salad – Adapted from For The Love Of Cooking

Ingredients:

Dressing:

4 tbsp olive oil

4 tbsp red wine vinegar **Use less vinegar if you prefer a less tangy dressing

2 clove of garlic, minced

2 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Pinch of sugar, to taste

Pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Sea salt and freshly cracked pepper, to taste

Pickled Onions:

½ cup red wine vinegar

1 tsp white sugar

½ tsp salt

½ red onion, sliced thinly

Remaining Ingredients:

1 (15 oz) can of great northern beans, drained & rinsed

1 (15 oz) can cannellini beans (taste test), drained & rinsed

1½ cups baby spinach, chopped

1½ cups romaine, chopped

8 oz grape tomatoes, halved

½ cup feta cheese crumbles

Instructions:

1. Make the dressing by combining the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, oregano, Dijon mustard, sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, sea salt, and freshly cracked pepper, to taste, in a small glass jar. Seal with lid and shake well to combine. Set aside to allow the flavors time to mingle.

2. Pickle the onion by whisking together the vinegar, sugar, and salt together in a small bowl; add the sliced onion and toss to coat evenly. Set aside for 30 minutes to pickle.

3. Marinate the chickpeas beans by placing the drained & rinsed beans in a microwavable bowl. Pour in half of the well-shaken dressing then stir until the chickpeas beans are evenly coated. 

4.Place into the microwave to cook for 90 seconds, stirring every 30 seconds, until warmed through. Set aside to cool completely for 20 minutes. (Three minutes for the double recipe)

4. Prepare the salad by combining the baby spinach, cooled marinated chickpeas (including residual dressing in the bowl), tomatoes, pickled onions, feta cheese, and remaining well-shaken salad dressing; toss until evenly coated. Serve and enjoy.

We served the picked onions on the side.  We had only the chicken and the salad and this is my plate before adding the onions.

The Verdict:

Just as previously, the chicken was indeed “awesome” and will stay on our make again list.  The salad was a perfect go-with and we could tell no difference in taste or texture between the two kinds of beans.  If you read my blog carefully, you know I use very little sugar and I made the salad without any because I like tart.  But, unless you like lip-puckering tart, I suggest you follow Pam’s recipe and sweeten it to the taste you like.

Photos can be enlarged by clicking on them and the blue words are links.

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by Almost Heaven South.

Larry

04/30/23 meal date